This course introduces major world religions and the scholarly methods of the academic study of religion. Religions covered may include Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and/or New Religious Movements. Meets New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 5: Humanities.

An introduction to the history, beliefs, practices, and development of the early Christian religion as reflected in the New Testament, using a historical and critical approach, with attention given to understanding its socio-cultural and political environment.

Introduces students to how people’s religious beliefs and practices influence their perspectives on health and their approaches to medical care and treatment. In units arranged by religion or region (North American indigenous religion, African religion, Hinduism, Chinese religion, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), students will learn how religious beliefs and practices relate to rites of passage, sexuality, women’s health, diet, mental health, trauma, and end of life issues. In addition to assessing students’ knowledge of the relationship between religion and perspectives on health and medical care and treatment, course assignments will raise students awareness of how people with different worldviews interact. Course requirements or activities also will teach them how to evaluate their own biases and how to assess the biases and credibility of various sources of information about religion, health, and medicine found on the Internet and elsewhere.

Provides an academic overview of major religious traditions of Asia (mainly India, China, and Japan), which may include Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto, and/or Shamanism as well as popular, tribal, or new religions. Students will be assigned both primary and secondary texts. Meets New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 5: Humanities.

This is a survey course that will cover major religious traditions of the West, including the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and other religious systems. The course will focus on how each tradition has developed historically and how it exists in the world today. Meets New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 5: Humanities.

(Also offered as AFST 303) Students will be introduced to the Black experience, which necessitates the redefinition of God and Jesus Christ in the lives of Black people as the struggle for transcendental and political freedom.

This course examines the life and role of the Prophet Muhammad, the message of the Qur'an, and the history of the theological, philosophical, legal, and mystical dimensions of Islam to the present.

(Also offered as CLST 321) This course examines the development of the genre of apocalypse by reading several early Jewish apocalypses before examining the lasting influence of apocalypticism in one particular Jewish sect, Christianity.

Studies in major religious figures or movements. Topic varies.

An introduction exploring relationships between the literary and religious traditions. {Fall}

(Also offered as HIST 441) This class will cover the rise and development of the nation's religious groups, from first contact to the present day. The focus will be on the social impact of the groups and how they influenced the development of American life.

Faculty-supervised individual study in an area of special interest not readily available through conventional course offerings. Restriction: permission of program chairperson.